There are five main areas a duty of care may arise regarding omissions. Discuss any three areas.

Occasionally an omission can amount to an actus reus of a crime. An omission is a failure to act where there is a duty to act. In the UK the general rule regarding omissions is that there is no good Samaritan rule for example an individual has no legal duty to save another individual drowning in a pond. However there are some exceptions.
Firstly, there is a duty under contract where the ratio in Pittwood 1902 determined if a person owes a contractual duty to act, then a failure to meet this contractual duty may result in criminal liability. Another exception is where there is a duty to limit harm caused decided in the case of Miller 1983 where the defendant failed to limit the harm the fire he caused created amounting to over £1 million in damages. As he failed to limit the harm caused he could be criminally liable. A final exception is where there is a duty of care when assuming responsibility for another highlighted by Stone and Dobinson 1977 where failure to take care of the individual can result in criminal liability demonstrated by the judgment in this case.